Feelings of helplessness follow tragedies

Tuesday

Dec 18, 2012 at 10:45 AM

This year has been a bloody one.With shooting rampages of historic proportions, like Aurora and Newtown, I have to say this is the most tragic year I can remember.In July, I lost a classmate to a gunman.Lisa (Burrow) Gritzmaker, a pregnant, married mother of two was shot and killed in Blissfield along with her sister Amy Merrill, mother of three.It's easy, with national and local tragedies, to feel helpless. I did for much of the summer, and most of Friday after watching the Newtown story unfold.On Dec. 14, I couldn't eat. I had a lump in my throat, my heart was heavy with sorrow and I was constantly tearing up, thinking of the children that had been killed, the families who lost their loved ones and the children who survived and must now find a way to deal with the sights and sounds they didn't quite understand.With so much innocence lost, it's easy to wonder how we can pick up and move on.But I volunteered that night. Honestly I didn't want to, but I was hoping it would make me feel better, and it did.As I stood outside in front of Jilly Beans, I tried to smile at passersby while ringing the Salvation Army bell.Within a few minutes, a young girl was dropping her change, dime by dime, into the red kettle.Her brother, who was maybe about 3 years old, dug in his pocket for probably thirty seconds, finally fishing out a penny. He couldn't quite reach the bucket, so I smiled as I tipped it toward him.In those few seconds, my heart lightened a little.No one can stop those families, or even the nation, from grieving. Those 20 children and six adults deserve our thoughts and our prayers, as do the families who are trying to cope with the situation.Tears will be shed for them for weeks to come, from sea to shining sea.But I'm taking time for the little things: the smile of a little one; a phone call from my sister with my 1-year-old niece babbling in the background; plans to spend Christmas with my loving family.It's not easy to shake those feelings of helplessness, especially in a year when so much has inspired those emotions.But as the holidays approach, please remember to relish the time you have with your loved ones. We truly don't know how much time we have to spend together.Nicole Dominique is a staff reporter for the Hillsdale Daily News. She can be reached at nicole.dominique@hillsdale.net.